Abstract
Using data from a survey of cotton producers in 14 US states, and a bivariate probit regression, this study examined the effects of the following measured parameters on the adoption of Automatic Section Control (ASC) technologies and GPS Auto-Guidance (AG) systems: age, education, farm size, field geometry, information sources, as well as the use of specific production practices and other Precision Agriculture (PA) technologies. Results suggest that younger, more educated producers, consulting farm dealers for information about PA technologies, using other PA technologies, and managing larger farming operations located in counties with more irregularly shaped fields are more likely to adopt ASC technologies and AG systems. Predicted adoption probabilities estimated using regression results suggest the use of other PA technologies and farm dealers as a source of precision farming information have the largest impact on the probability of adopting ASC by cotton farmers. Additionally, these results suggest farmers with operations in eastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, and a couple of counties in middle Tennessee are more likely to adopt ASC technologies. Producers in these regions had the highest percentages of users of other PA technologies and farm dealers to obtain PA information.
Highlights
Precision agriculture (PA) encompasses many technologies that use field-level data to improve input application efficiency (National Research Council, 1997)
Similar to the results presented above older producers, who are more educated, use farm dealers to obtain PA information, and with larger harvested acreage are more likely to adopt Automatic section control (ASC) technologies and automated guidance (AG) systems
Summary and Implications The results from the present study showed that precision agriculture technologies such as ASC and AG would continue to be adopted by producers in the United States as fertilizer, chemical and seed costs, which represent 45%, 70% and 76% of total operating costs for cotton, soybean, and corn, respectively (USDA-ERS, 2018), increase
Summary
Precision agriculture (PA) encompasses many technologies that use field-level data to improve input application efficiency (National Research Council, 1997). Automatic section control (ASC) and GPS automated guidance (AG) systems are PA technologies that can reduce such inefficiency. ASC turns planter/sprayer sections or rows off in areas of the field where inputs have been applied or on and off at headland turns, point rows, terraces, and/or waterways, reducing or eliminating input over application (Fulton, Mullenix, Brooke, Winstead, & Ortiz, 2011). The AG systems complement ASC technologies by allowing producers to maintain a desired path through a field, eliminating application overlap and skips. AG systems reduce fatigue from operating machinery, giving operators the ability to extend their working hours (Shockley, Dillon, & Stomabaugh, 2011). AG systems may reduce working hours by helping operators navigate through a field more efficiently (McDonald, 2015)
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